K-12 Spending Per Student in the OECD

December 20, 2010

Authors:

Veronique de Rugy

This chart by Mercatus Center Senior Research Fellow Veronique de Rugy compares K-12 education expenditures per pupil in each of the world’s major industrial powers. As we can see, with the exception of Switzerland, the United States spends more than any other country on education, an average of $91,700 per student between the ages of six and fifteen.

That’s not only more than other countries spend but it is also more than better achieving countries spend – the United States spends a third more than Finland, a country that consistently ranks near the top in science, reading, and math testing.

Note that not all 34 member OECD member countries are represented in the below graphic, which draws its data from OECD Education at a Glance 2009[1]. This metric, Cumulative expenditure per student between 6 and 15 years in equivalent USD in 2008 is not available for the nations of Canada, Chile, Estonia, Greece, Israel, Slovenia and Turkey.